Terme di Venturina

Although the toponym Venturina is quite recent, traces of human settlement have been attested since Etruscan age when this area was known for its hot springs. It was later called Aquae Populoniae by the Romans. During the Middle Ages, the area became depopulated due to the vicinity of noxious marsches. In 1863, when the railway through the Maremma region was inaugurated, Campiglia Marittima station was built close to Venturina for its strategic position. Since the early 20th century, thanks to the drainage of the marshes and the development of Piombino’s industrial area, the town gradually began to expand and increase its population.

Known also as Roman mausoleum of Caldana from the name of this area, the building traces back to 1st century A.D. and was probably built as a monumental sepulchre close to the Roman road Aurelia since ancient Romans used to erect tombs, particularly for notable people, along suburban stretches of the main roads. The sarcophagus, today missing, contained human remains of a prominent figure in connection with the Roman society settled in the nearby town of Populonia and was supposed to be located close to the opening at the base of the structure. In 1964, Father Enrico Lombardi suggested to associate the sepulchre with Caius Trebatius, a Roman aristocrat whose name was inscribed in a signet ring found in the vicinity of Venturina, though this attribution remains purely an assumption.